Lump on my face right in front of the middle of my right ear

about a week ago found that i have a lump on the right side of my face right in front of my ear. it is about an inch and a half long. it hurts sometimes especially when i touch it or move my jaw a certain way. sometimes the pain will radiate up towards the top of my head or it will go down into my jaw or it will go into my ear. i do have a history of ear infections but there was no ear pain before i found the lump. i wanna kno what it could be and if its any cause for concern.

i also have sharp pain in my right shoulder. when i put my arm above my head i can only go about 75 percent of the way without the pain.

money is tight and i have no insurance. i just wanna kno the severity of these problems so i kno if i need to see someone about them. any information about either one of them would be greatly appreciated.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
For the shoulder pain, you can try a hot water bottle along with analgesics and anti inflammatories like ibuprofen and see if this gives relief. If this does not, then you will need to consult an orthopedic specialist.
Regarding the swelling in front of the ear, since it is painful, it could be a lymph node, a cyst or a boil. At times you may not have an apparent infection but the lymph node may swell. If you take anti inflammatories like ibuprofen this may settle down too. If this does not help I am sorry but you will need to see your PCP.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!